Monday Morning Mojo: How a Smiling Stranger in Starbucks Made My Day
Today was one of those days where absolutely everything was going wrong. My alarm went off an hour late, the weather was dreadful, and worst of all — I ran out of hairspray.
After stopping at CVS for an emergency can of hair heroine, I made my way into Starbucks for my usual Venti Chai Tea Latte. The line was out the door. After about two minuets of waiting, I reached into my back pocket to pull out my cell phone. And much to my surprise, I had left my phone in the car. “Great,” I thought to myself. “Now what am I supposed to do for the next 3 minutes?”
As the line piled up, I noticed the woman behind me was smiling from ear to ear. “How could anyone possibly be that happy,” I questioned. And then it happened — the cheery stranger behind me sparked a conversation. Oy. Here we go…
“Are you all ready for Thanksgiving?” she asked.
“Thankfully I am,” I hesitantly replied. “Are you?”
And so there I was — in line at Starbucks discussing Thanksgiving traditions and holiday plans with a complete stranger. As the line moved along, the woman and I continued to chat. She told me about her plans to travel to New Orleans for Thanksgiving with her family, we discussed my upcoming trip to Israel in December, and we bonded over a fear of lost luggage.
From our short interaction, the woman seemed extremly personable and very nice. When it was finally my turn to order and pay for by basic bitch latte, the woman jumped in front of me and paid for my drink.
“Seriously?” I asked. “You don’t have to do that!”
“It would be my pleasure,” the woman replied. “We can all use some extra cheer these days.”
I was shocked — humbled, actually. And most of all, I was ever so grateful.
As we waited for our controversial red cups of cheer, we continued to chat about mashed potatoes and gravy. When our drinks were finally ready, I thanked her once again. We wished each other a Happy Thanksgiving and the two of us went on our merry ways.
This woman’s kind gesture reminded me that my bad day could quite possibly be the greatest day of someone else’s life. But more importantly, our simple interaction left me thinking about much more —
How many times have I missed a personal connection because I had my face in my phone?
Had I not accidently left my phone in the car, would I have connected with this stranger? All too often we use our phones not only to connect with other people, but also to avoid them.
In today’s fast-paced world, it seems like everyone’s attention is constantly allocated to his or her phone, regardless of the presence of others. But if you’re scrolling through your news feed or responding to a text, it’s impossible to be fully engaged in the present moment you are in.
So, maybe we shouldn’t resort to playing Candy Crush or scrolling through Instagram the next time we’re in line at the Starbucks. You never know — the love of your life, your next boss, or a woman willing to pay for your latte may be standing right behind you.